Tuesday, December 27, 2011

THE DAYS AFTER . . . .

My dear cousin, Jeanette, has the gift of writing and uses phrases I borrow from time to time. She recently sent an email and mentioned "...skidding into Christmas...". She was right-on-the-mark with that phrase. I did indeed skid into Christmas. I saw it coming down the track like a freight train and tried to apply the brakes in order to make the pre-Christmas feeling last, but I was unsuccessful in slowing down the time. How I wish I had the power to stop time for a little while - just long enough to complete projects and finish cleaning, decorating, and baking with time for a little relaxing and movie-watching before the festivities begin. That's my dream, my goal, every single year, but I always fall short. I won't use the word, "fail" because my efforts were not failures, but there are always things I want to do that don't get done and things I forget. The weeks prior to Christmas seemed more hectic this year than in years past, unless my memory is faulty, and that's a distict possibility. Actually, I do remember being as tired and worn in past years as I was in this one, but time is the great healer. Jeanette expresses exactly how I feel when she suggests (I'm paraphrasing here) we keep trying to present Norman Rockwell versions of Christmas but those fall apart. Why do I feel I need to present a perfect holiday? First, being a flawed human, it's impossible to be perfect at anything.....and second, there is no need to try to be perfect. My family and friends know who I am. They know I am flawed. They forgive my shortcomings (I hope) and support my efforts by their words and actions. I'm the one who is hard on myself. Everyone who came to join us in this new old house during the holidays was very kind and complimentary. It seemed to me everybody had a good time being here. Glenn and I had a wonderful time hosting them. Today I'm forgiving myself for not remembering to give my sister her gift bag that's sitting in the closet, for not remembering to make the delicious grape salad I had planned, for not remembering to let the grandkids bake cookies on Christmas Day as we'd said we would, for not letting my holiday meal warm sufficiently in the oven before serving it, and for not realizing 18 people could NOT sit around the table in the diningroom. None of those things caused the celebration to end. So what if we didn't have a Norman Rockwell Christmas. Who does? If I tried to list all the things that went well, I'd be here typing for a long time. I'm attempting to get a headstart on the New Year by trying to let go of the things I considered shortcomings. I want to move forward and strive to do better. In my life, there is always room for improvement. I sincerely hope your Christmas was merry and that your New Year will be bright and happy.

3 comments:

Yeah I long for the norman rockwell christmas too..this year was low key and you know it was great..not too many decorations this year and it was nice actually..cause it sure was fast putting it all away..hope you have a wonderful new year..would love to see your home decorated for the holidays though..:)

You know Kady, I bet everyone left your new old house very happy indeed!!! It's only us, who host, who know what is missing, not clean or tidy enough, not enough of etc, - most people are there to enjoy the company and to share a meal together, it could have taken place in the barn (minus the cats LOL!) and still everyone would have had a good time....some of us are too hard on ourselves, darn overachievers LOL!!!! yes I can be one of them too.... I wish for you and your family a wonderful safe holiday season and all the best for 2012!!!

I think Christmas is one of the hardest times of year to get through..Went to WM yesterday and right next to the Christmas clearance items was displays of stuff for Valentine's day..I am not ready for another holiday and my DD birthday is Feb 28th and have to think of something she would like..maybe a grocery gift card..cheaper to mail and the right size and color.Take care and Happy new year

ALWAYS BE KIND

CAMOUFLAGE CAT

MY EBONY CAT

Blooper (aka Blue) is a great companion and confidant. He always seems to know when I need a friendly furry face and a whisker tickle.

YOU TALKIN' TO ME?

Kitty Brothers Casey and Cody - We lost precious little Cody in October of 2011 - Rest in peace my sweet kitty boy.

GOLDEN BOY CASEY

One of My Sweet Boy Kitties

HOLLY

There are just too many tigers around here if you ask me.

BLOOPER THE COMPUTER CAT

Don't You Love Those Eyes?

BIGGER TIGGER

I'm a sweet guy....most of the time.

CALICO ROXIE

I wasn't doing whatever you think I was doing.

HOLLY'S NEW BLANKET

Oooh, I like this one.

HOLLY BEE

Our Feisty Girl - She has perfectly symmetrical markings in her fur

FEEDING TIME AT THE ZOO

Tuna Juice..Yummmmm! My cats have never been given canned cat food. I've always fed them dry chow, which they like. But then, how do they know to come running when they hear the can opener? How do they know there's something good in that can Mom's about to open? Do cats have "can opener" radar?

MANDY, THE CAT CHASER

Come on. Do I really look like a cat chaser? I'm innocent I tell ya'. I just wanted to play with 'em, honestly. I'm so misunderstood.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY LIFE

I'm older than dirt (at least I feel like that some days) and the mother of one daughter, grandmother (nana) of two, plus mama to a whole tribe of cats and one big lab-mix dog. I love my family, my animals, and my backyard cabin.
All my animals were rescued at one time or another. They are a big part of my life and their care and feeding is often an overwhelming responsibility but I love each and every one of my furry companions.
I've loved animals, music, writing, and crafting ever since I was a child and I now write stories and poems and compose lyrics for songs. I also write letters to my grandkids and when they eventually read what I've written to them, I hope they'll be able to recapture some of the memories we made together when they were little.